Preview — Insomniac City
by Bill Hayes

Insomniac City: New York, Oliver, and Me

Bill Hayes came to New York City in 2009 with a one-way ticket and only the vaguest idea of how he would get by. But, at forty-eight years old, having spent decades in San Francisco, he craved change. Grieving over the death of his partner, he quickly discovered the profound consolations of the city's incessant rhythms, the sight of the Empire State Building against the niBill Hayes came to New York City in 2009 with a one-way ticket and only the vaguest idea of how he would get by. But, at forty-eight years old, having spent decades in San Francisco, he craved change. Grieving over the death of his partner, he quickly discovered the profound consolations of the city's incessant rhythms, the sight of the Empire State Building against the night sky, and New Yorkers themselves, kindred souls that Hayes, a lifelong insomniac, encountered on late-night strolls with his camera.

And he unexpectedly fell in love again, with his friend and neighbor, the writer and neurologist Oliver Sacks, whose exuberance--"I don't so much fear death as I do wasting life," he tells Hayes early on--is captured in vignettes throughout. What emerges is a portrait of Sacks at his most personal and endearing, from falling in love for the first time at age seventy-five to facing illness and death (Sacks died of cancer in August 2015)....more

Jen Lee-OlmsteadNo, it wasn't the first time. Check out Sacks' autobiography On the Move: A Life to learn more about Sacks' relationship history. No doubt his mother'…moreNo, it wasn't the first time. Check out Sacks' autobiography On the Move: A Life to learn more about Sacks' relationship history. No doubt his mother's initial reaction to his homosexuality (calling him "an abomination") influenced his decision to stay closeted until his final years. Sacks had several short-term relationships, then was celibate for 35 years until falling in love with Bill Hayes. The turning point in coming out and becoming comfortable with his love is covered in Insomniac City; it's very sweet. (less)

One of the most moving and beautiful works of nonfiction I've read in some time, Insomniac City is a highly unique mini memoir and portrait of two great loves of Bill Hayes' life: Oliver Sacks and New York City. And though so much will break your heart, it will ache with gladness too, for Hayes writes, sees, feels, appreciates the simple and complex beauty of human life, and articulately of the mesmerizing urban jungle that is New York, and his book is a celebration of love. Love that can unite One of the most moving and beautiful works of nonfiction I've read in some time, Insomniac City is a highly unique mini memoir and portrait of two great loves of Bill Hayes' life: Oliver Sacks and New York City. And though so much will break your heart, it will ache with gladness too, for Hayes writes, sees, feels, appreciates the simple and complex beauty of human life, and articulately of the mesmerizing urban jungle that is New York, and his book is a celebration of love. Love that can unite people and bring people together, from small interactions in a skateboard park to the deep, soul touching love Bill and O experience together. It's so well written, and yet also incredibly raw, delighting and saddening me in alternating states. It's really more of a collection of ideas, feelings, journal entries, thoughts of Bill Hayes than anything, but the book seems to be a written embodiment of his own state, so it feels extremely authentic and I never felt lost or confused as we jumped in time, space and medium.

"Wouldn't it be nice if there were a planet where the sound of rain falling is like Bach?"

Oliver Sacks is the immediate draw, a brilliant man but not overly well-known in a personal way by most who "disappeared" (Hayes' verb of choice in lieu of "passed away") too soon by anyone's reckoning since the fate of man is inevitable, but always too soon. The depth of feeling pervades for me even a week after reading it, and how charmed I was by these two incredible individuals finding each other in the universe, and getting such an intimate look into the mind of Oliver Sacks. His intelligence, whimsy, and tenderness jump off the page in such beautiful moments and anecdotes as Hayes gives us unparalleled access to their love.

I: "What else can I do for you?"

O: "Exist."

Just before midnight, I taught O how to open a bottle of champagne, something he had never done before: sweet to see the joy and surprise and fear on his face as - pop! - the cork exploded. He had insisted on wearing his swimming goggles, though, just in case.

It's also a book that will call to those from New York, living in New York, or dreaming of New York. Hayes too dreamed of moving to the city, and though he's honest about its detriments and less glamorous nature, it's such a deep, full throated embrace of the city and its people across all walks of life. Throughout the memoir, Hayes' photography illustrates his life with Oliver, but also New York's glamorous buildings and unknown inhabitants, and Hayes candidly and otherwise captures beautiful human moments of strangers, acquaintances, friends, and lovers. I got the feeling that I would feel incredibly lucky and serendipitous to have an interaction with Bill Hayes on the subway, one of those nice, hey why don't I talk to strangers more often, wow that guy is amazing kind of moments that I don't have as often as I should. Hayes shows us New York, not in a new way but in so much love with this city, warts and all, that I've been more open to a random moment in the shuffle, keeping my headphones off, looking up with a smile.

I remember how Wendy once told me she loved New York so much she couldn't bear the thought of it going on without her. It seemed like both the saddest and the most romantic thing one could possibly say - sad because New York can never return the sentiment, and sad because it's the kind of thing said more often about a romantic love - husband, wife, girlfriend, partner, lover. You can't imagine them going on without you. But they do. We do. Every day, we may wake up and say, What's the point? Why go on? And, there is really only one answer: To be alive.

And its specific tale is no less beautiful or important than the larger takeaway for me of a full embrace of one's life and everything in it, understanding the limits of time imposed on us and appreciating the magic high and mundane that life is while we're here to live it. Ultimately it urges you to reconsider with fresh eyes the world you inhabit, see it for all its attributes good and bad, reach out to its inhabitants also orbiting in similar spaces and revel in the power of human connection, whether simple and small or life changing and grandiose, or both at the same time, a worthy idea in an age fueled by the internet that can make it easier and paradoxically harder to truly connect.

I can't fully put into words how meaningful a read this was for me, and I can only recommend it to everyone I know loudly for its individual story and universal appeal. But if you're a fan of Oliver Sacks, or a lover of New York who maybe hasn't had as much time to appreciate the inner details of the city, or if you're in a transitory phase like me and just need a hint of a spark of humanity to connect with and respond to and feel less alone, meet Bill Hayes. Meet Insominac City. It's waiting for you.

Insomniac City...such tender, moving, heartwarming/heartbreaking, intelligent writing everything is beautifully observed in this reflective piece of prose a form of ode, a love letter to New York, to a one of a kind love. His NY observations are so insightful so carefully and tenderly described you can't help fall for it yourself. How he talks about O how considered his thoughts are, it is so intricately shared here. Love is so personal, it has no boundaries, it's delicate it's destructive it's Insomniac City...such tender, moving, heartwarming/heartbreaking, intelligent writing everything is beautifully observed in this reflective piece of prose a form of ode, a love letter to New York, to a one of a kind love. His NY observations are so insightful so carefully and tenderly described you can't help fall for it yourself. How he talks about O how considered his thoughts are, it is so intricately shared here. Love is so personal, it has no boundaries, it's delicate it's destructive it's all the little things that make you love a person. Nobody's perfect but we should try to find the perfect in everyone. This will break your heart while equally restoring it. If you aren't already in love with New York and of love itself you will be after this!

I couldn’t help but fall in love with New York City as I lived it through author Bill Hayes’ eyes reading Insomniac City: New York, Oliver, and Me. He is a wonderful observer and he captures the essence of people through photographs and his stories. He tells us his life journey (after he loses his beloved partner he leaves San Francisco to start fresh in NYC) and we experience his existence as he heals his soul, taking in the sights of the city and finding beauty in his connections with others. I couldn’t help but fall in love with New York City as I lived it through author Bill Hayes’ eyes reading Insomniac City: New York, Oliver, and Me. He is a wonderful observer and he captures the essence of people through photographs and his stories. He tells us his life journey (after he loses his beloved partner he leaves San Francisco to start fresh in NYC) and we experience his existence as he heals his soul, taking in the sights of the city and finding beauty in his connections with others. We here about his relationship with Oliver Sacks, the well-known neurologist, genius of a man and can feel the love they had for each other through the pages. Although Sacks was almost 30 years older, Hayes often seemed to be his guide contributing to what made them a well matched, intriguing couple.

I’ve always been enamored with New York City and did enjoy living there for a while, but now, in addition to my renewed appreciation and love for my favorite city I feel warm feelings toward author Bill Hayes who is no doubt a kind, tender hearted, open minded man who, in his life has nurtured loves until they are gone, but he continues to see, appreciate and capture the beauty in this world. Oliver Sacks seemed like a brilliant, unique and loving man…I would have enjoyed meeting him.

As Bill Hayes writes. ” It requires a certain kind of unconditional love to love living here. But New York repays you in time in memorable encounters, at the very least. Just remember: Ask first, don’t grab, be fair, say please and thank you, always say thank you – even if you don’t get something back right away. You will.”

This tender memoir was like reading a love letter to New York City – I have a list of people I know who will cherish it like I did!

I remember a friend sending me excerpts of this book. I read it while I was at Doolally – a taproom in Bombay. I was waiting for friends to show up for the Wednesday night quiz and then something happened which I hadn’t expected to – I wept by the time I had finished reading the long excerpt. I cried. I think I even bawled. I strongly also believe that when an art form does that to you – when it creeps up on you like that and almost shatters your world – you’re in for a rollercoaster ride. That I remember a friend sending me excerpts of this book. I read it while I was at Doolally – a taproom in Bombay. I was waiting for friends to show up for the Wednesday night quiz and then something happened which I hadn’t expected to – I wept by the time I had finished reading the long excerpt. I cried. I think I even bawled. I strongly also believe that when an art form does that to you – when it creeps up on you like that and almost shatters your world – you’re in for a rollercoaster ride. That happened to me as I was reading “Insomniac City: New York, Oliver and Me” by Bill Hayes, from which the excerpt was.

Relationships are fragile, they are also very strong. At the same time, what do you do when it ends all of a sudden? When it ends not because you want it to, but because death comes suddenly knocking on your partner’s door and there is nothing you can do about it. Then what? Hayes’s partner died after sixteen years of togetherness. He then moved to New York from San Francisco in search of a new start (as most of us do). He found himself in a city that was surprising, random, and at the same time made him see the humanity that exists. Slowly and steadily, he fell in love with New York and found love in the form of the late, great neurologist and writer, Dr. Oliver Sacks.

This book “Insomniac City” as the title suggests is about New York, Oliver Sacks and Bill Hayes. It is also about life – majorly so, and how it changes constantly whether we would like it or not. It is about New York – of how brutal and gentle she can be at the same time, of how to surrender to the city is to love her completely and without any prejudice. The book ultimately is about great love that transcends all barriers, challenges, doubts and the throes of darkness. There are also the author’s stunning photographs – capturing his love for the city and Oliver.

Let me not forget the portrait of Oliver Sacks that Bill Hayes paints so vividly and beautifully – a genius who did not own a computer – who always preferred to communicate via letters and longhand, who didn’t know how a champagne bottle was opened and used goggles when he first opened them for the fear of the cork hitting his eye, who called pot “cannabis” and who believed in living life as it came – day by day. Hayes met Oliver after Oliver wrote him a letter praising his book “The Anatomist” and this is how they met and love blossomed. The book is about that love, about how Oliver met Hayes after three decades of being alone and celibate. “Insomniac City” will surprise you in ways more than one.

“Insomniac City” is about the love between Oliver and Hayes and what they shared in Oliver’s final years. The writing is so personal and out there that you cannot help but be overwhelmed. Their love for things common, their roads to discovering something they did not know, and what it is to live daily – for the bond to strengthen and one fine day to see that love slip away. The book teaches you about grief, about people coming together quite randomly on a bus or a train and makes you more aware and conscious of what it is to be human. I cannot recommend this book enough. Do yourself a favour: Order it, read it and weep. You need a good cry, now and then. ...more

Insomniac City is a slight book, and its breeziness and lack of depth will either strike a reader as charming and flâneur-like or will be irritating in the extreme.

What is called a memoir is actually little more than a commonplace book, including extracts of diaries, snippets of conversation, and notes taken with studied casualness and later transcribed into the text. The low point of this approach comes when Hayes describes replacing Sacks' typewriter ribbon. Testing the new ribbon, the latterInsomniac City is a slight book, and its breeziness and lack of depth will either strike a reader as charming and flâneur-like or will be irritating in the extreme.

What is called a memoir is actually little more than a commonplace book, including extracts of diaries, snippets of conversation, and notes taken with studied casualness and later transcribed into the text. The low point of this approach comes when Hayes describes replacing Sacks' typewriter ribbon. Testing the new ribbon, the latter strikes random keys and types nonsense phrases, all of which Hayes dutifully reproduces in a two-page spread. It's hard to avoid the sense that one is watching a doting mother hang her two-year-old's incomprehensible fingerpainting in an expensive frame over the family mantle.

Throughout Insomniac City, in fact, Oliver Sacks is constantly performing Oliver Sacks for the delectation of his amanuensis Hayes; and Hayes never stops elbowing the reader to say, "Isn't Oliver wonderful? Isn't Oliver smart? Doesn't he have a brilliant mind?" Anecdotes about "the great man" abound, but they remain sterile.

On his own, Hayes eccentrically tools around New York having "experiences," offering $20 bills to homeless people and chatting with strangers, the quintessential ecotourist in other people's existences.

The glimpses that Hayes offers into his and Sacks' intimate relationship are tantalizing but vague, with a kind of maidenly lack of specificity that is out-of-place in a book whose entire purpose for existing is the relationship between the two men. Hayes is, after all, the reason that Sacks ended a period of celibacy that spanned more than 30 years, about which the public is evidently going to learn nothing more in this lifetime. Sacks doesn't say much about it in his autobiography, published shortly before his death, and Hayes follows suit.

There would have been no need for pornographic detail, surely, but a bit more candor about the late-in-life relationship of two men, one of whom was nearly 40 years older than the other, would have been both useful and appropriate.

Instead, Insomniac City feels oddly and, one suspects, deliberately de-gayed to serve the needs of its high-end mainstream publisher and of its hip and urbane "New Yorker" public who are surrounded by gay people but really don't want to talk about them all that much.

Hayes is too in love with his own beautiful little phrases to focus on substance, and, apart from noting that the prose is ornate, a reader might be forgiven for wondering why so much air has been pumped into the spaces between the words.

In the end, Insomniac City feels very much like "Oliver Sacks: The Souvenir Program," pretty, superficial, and forgettable....more

As track-stopping as fine poetry, as accessible as anything, this book is so many things. Personal transformation after personal tragedy, done so deftly that it’s intimate without taking one word or moment more than needed to tell the story. Authentic and mature such even the most all-the-feels-averse reader (that would be me for a start) is impressed.

There are art and science, love and loss and fear and beAll the stars. Put ‘em right here.

I did not want this surprising, gorgeous book to end.

As track-stopping as fine poetry, as accessible as anything, this book is so many things. Personal transformation after personal tragedy, done so deftly that it’s intimate without taking one word or moment more than needed to tell the story. Authentic and mature such even the most all-the-feels-averse reader (that would be me for a start) is impressed.

There are art and science, love and loss and fear and beginnings and simple eloquence in this memoir-bio-journal-essay-collection beauty. Its so many things I love anyway, and it’s an evolving, beautiful look at the man and the mind of Oliver Sacks and his unexpected love story with the author. Right alongside is an unfolding valentine to NYC, subway stories and newsstand characters and all.

As I inched toward the ending of the audiobook (I did say I didn’t want it to end) that was my companion for driving around town on errands and appointments for many weeks, I started the debate over whether I would buy the paper book or kindle version. When I reached the end I ordered the paper version (I need to read this with a highlighter or at least a pencil, feasting on inked words) along with a sort of companion book of the author’s NYC photography.

This is a book that I fear in reverse to have not found by accident. You know what I mean—what if this book and I had never met? I’ll give you all the good fiction I’ve read this year for the unaffected elegance of this perfectly human, wide awake look at life.

This is the most beautiful book I have ever read. For Bill, I will think of words better than beautiful- splendid, lovely, awe-inspiring, extra-ordinary. How lucky for us (the world) that Bill met New York City and met Oliver, the three create a perfect enchanting symphony and sometimes disharmony together. Thank you, Bill, for remembering, capturing, and sharing it with us.

"Some days, I feel like Sylvia Plath married to Anne Sexton- or is it Anne Sexton married to Sylvia Plath?- but without the depression or suicides.

Just poetry."

This is a bitingly beautiful book, a celebration of life, love, loss, New York and the relationship between Bill Hayes and Oliver Sacks. In truth, I fell in love with Oliver myself bathing in the memories Hayes showers on the reader. There seemed to be an infinite childlike curiosity and via my blog https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/

"Some days, I feel like Sylvia Plath married to Anne Sexton- or is it Anne Sexton married to Sylvia Plath?- but without the depression or suicides.

Just poetry."

This is a bitingly beautiful book, a celebration of life, love, loss, New York and the relationship between Bill Hayes and Oliver Sacks. In truth, I fell in love with Oliver myself bathing in the memories Hayes showers on the reader. There seemed to be an infinite childlike curiosity and lust for life in Sacks, and an overflow of genius. How could Bill not be changed by his love for Oliver nor feel such a crippling loss of such a soul in his life? New York might well break your heart, and so will the love and tenderness Bill Hayes shares in this gorgeous memoir.

The connections fired off in Oliver’s brain each day, looking at ordinary things we usually dismiss,warmed me to my toes. There is something refreshing about Oliver and Hayes love for him shines through the telling. The photography of Bill’s is moving, not everyone can capture a person’s essence in a photograph- Bill Hayes has. There are sweet stories about Bill’s encounters with strangers, and one of my favorite photographs he took is of Ilona Royce Smithkin, the eye artist. There is something endearing about her art, and in the photo of her by a window, she is just as I imagined she would look. It has to be said my favorite part of the book is when they meet with Björk, yes-the singer. I was tickled to learn Oliver wasn’t aware of who she was and the meeting of like minds moved me. They were familiar to each other in spirit, both curious and brilliant in their own right, fame not withstanding.

Oliver isn’t Bill’s only love, nor loss. First was Steve, his partner that passed away from cardiac arrest as he slept deeply beside him. To say he was bereft is minimizing the horror, the crumbling of one’s reality when death steals away our loved ones. In an effort to outrun his grief, he travels but his life eventually begins anew when he starts over in New York. Unlike so many youthful dreamers that head to bustling city, Oliver was nearing 50 years of age. Is it possibly to become a New Yorker when you aren’t as fresh and new? Though he an Oliver had first become acquainted when Sacks wrote Bill a letter, meeting when he visited NY, it wasn’t the catalyst for the move. He needed a change, needed to shed his life in San Francisco- it was time for rebirth. It was a blessing that love blossomed between Oliver as they saw more of each other, no longer on opposite sides of the country, a man 30 years his senior comes to mean so much to his life. You just never know what is waiting for you on the other side of grief, as Bill soon learned. We are lucky to be a part of Hayes’ love affair with New York, strangers, photography and always, Oliver. Though it’s a book that speaks of grief, I found it to be much more a memoir celebrating love and the promise of living, of forging ahead with hope and joy.

Nearing the end of Oliver’s life I felt my heart weighted, for a light was leaving our world. As he lay dying and his friends and lover gathered together and read to him I thought ‘what a tender manner to slip away in your last days.’ To the end Oliver was brave and curious and loved, much loved. A true love story just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Beautiful Memoir with lovely photographs. It was touching in every way.

Please bear with me as I listened to the audiobook (fantastic narration), so am doing this from memory with no material for reference ...

First of all, I want to mention that I have not read Oliver Sachs' memoir; however, I don't think that was necessary. I could see how he came to fall in love with Bill from reading this story. Not that it's self-congratulatory, but that Bill was easily able to accept Oliver's eccentricity, which few others could manage. One of their early dates was to a museum Please bear with me as I listened to the audiobook (fantastic narration), so am doing this from memory with no material for reference ...

First of all, I want to mention that I have not read Oliver Sachs' memoir; however, I don't think that was necessary. I could see how he came to fall in love with Bill from reading this story. Not that it's self-congratulatory, but that Bill was easily able to accept Oliver's eccentricity, which few others could manage. One of their early dates was to a museum to see either dinosaurs or minerals (I forget which) ; Oliver gives Bill birthday presents related to the atomic number of the element matching the milestone.

They visit Bjork in Iceland twice, as she's a huge fan of Oliver's books. The first, more detailed, trip gave Bill an opportunity to show both Oliver and Bjork as interesting people, who just have to be famous, rather than celebrities. Another incident has Bill and Oliver thrown together with Lauren Hutton in a "You can't make this stuff up"adventure. She is aware of Oliver, but he has no idea who she is (though they hit it off well), with Bill remarking "I couldn't have explained who she was (why she was famous) to him if I'd tried."

Oliver's death is not sad in that he was 82, having lived a full life (shall we say), but as Bill's loss it was harder to get through. It hadn't been all that earlier that they came to realize they were in love. Bill had lost his first partner suddenly, which proved the catalyst to move to New York from San Francisco.

The book starts (roughly) with Steve's death from a heart attack one night in bed,followed by Bill's need to start over somewhere else. So, New York it is. He sent Oliver a fan letter which moved Oliver enough to respond, soon they met, and fell in love gradually.

However, where Bill succeeds brilliantly has to do with contrasting his own New York story, as his own person, Oliver aside. A chapter in that vein which truly struck me focused on a woman whom he'd photographed (an interest of his along with writing) insisting that he sit for a drawing by her. He and Oliver never lived together (aside from Oliver's final month), so there was plenty of such material of his own. He integrates that aspect along with Oliver, so that neither feels grafted onto the other to "fill out" the story.

As a quibble, I wanted to know why they never married? The idea would have unthinkable to Oliver at first, but by the end things had changed a great deal. Bill mentions the idea of same sex husbands and wives as a concept he (Bill himself) hadn't gotten used to.

Highly recommended reading, with one more scene from their relationship I cannot resist relating ...

I accidentally dropped a package of cherry tomatoes on the floor, with Oliver exclaiming "What a beautiful pattern!" So, I dropped another.

Insomniac City is a moving book about the author's relationship with Oliver Sacks. What I loved most about this book is the way Hayes writes about his love affair with NYC, which brought back memories of my own romance with the city when I first moved there 35 years ago.

A really tender memoir written by Bill Hayes, Oliver Sacks’ partner, in the years leading up to Sacks’ death. Interspersed with Hayes’ beautiful photography this is a poignant love letter to Oliver Sacks and to New York. Loved every minute of it. 💕

This gorgeous book is a love letter to the author's partner (Oliver Sacks) and to the city of New York. The NYC of Billy Hayes is one I've only caught a glimpse of-- he's the kind of man who can make friends with anyone, and goes out of his way to do so. Reading this book is like getting an insider's look at the city through the eyes of someone who loves humanity.

The prose reads like poetry, and you can tell the author cares as much about the beauty of language as he does the beauty of photograThis gorgeous book is a love letter to the author's partner (Oliver Sacks) and to the city of New York. The NYC of Billy Hayes is one I've only caught a glimpse of-- he's the kind of man who can make friends with anyone, and goes out of his way to do so. Reading this book is like getting an insider's look at the city through the eyes of someone who loves humanity.

The prose reads like poetry, and you can tell the author cares as much about the beauty of language as he does the beauty of photography, science, and people. An absolutely gorgeous book.

Disclaimer- I work for the publisher, which is how I got an early copy, but the review is entirely honest. ...more

I feel like I’ve found a kindred spirit in Bill Hayes. I admire him for his willingness to pause and see where others wouldn’t dare to look, and for his openness to share his most intimate moments with readers. ‘Insomniac City’ is filled with loud curiosity and quiet enthusiasm, brave romanticism and loving sensitivity. It breaks your heart and at the same time, mends it.

This book is subtitled "New York, Oliver, and Me", and really that's pretty accurate. It's not so much a memoir as a collection of extracts from conversations, diaries and events - it feels fairly random. I was a bit disappointed, to be honest - it never seems to do more than scratch the surface of any of the elements of the subtitle.

You will fall in love TOTALLY and unequivocally with this piece of art, it flows , it’s beautifully written it’s captivating, what more does one want, you will be transported to another realm.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was pretty skeptical about this book even before attempting it. Coming on the heels of Oliver Sacks’s death, it struck me as an opportunistic money grab on the part of the publishing industry and perhaps on the part of Sacks’s late-in-life partner as well. About 70 pages in, I decided I really didn’t care to read about the author’s romantic relationship with Sacks and not about the heretofore-unknown-to-me memoirist, Hayes, either. A good part of the book is a sort of ode to New York City, notI was pretty skeptical about this book even before attempting it. Coming on the heels of Oliver Sacks’s death, it struck me as an opportunistic money grab on the part of the publishing industry and perhaps on the part of Sacks’s late-in-life partner as well. About 70 pages in, I decided I really didn’t care to read about the author’s romantic relationship with Sacks and not about the heretofore-unknown-to-me memoirist, Hayes, either. A good part of the book is a sort of ode to New York City, not exactly a place whose praise I need or want to hear sung. I also found the fragmented and sometimes self-indulgent writing off putting. It does make me happy to know that Sacks found some personal happiness towards the end and that his lover adored him, but I found the appeal of the book very limited....more

I love when the right book finds you at the right time. I took this home randomly one night, and adored it.

Bill Hayes moved to New York after the sudden death of his partner. He fell in love with the city, and with the brilliant neurologist, Oliver Sacks. Sacks had written to Hayes when his book The Anatomist released, saying he loved it and to let him know if he were ever in New York. When Hayes moved, they became friends, and Hayes became the great love of Oliver's life.

Insomniac City is a buI love when the right book finds you at the right time. I took this home randomly one night, and adored it.

Bill Hayes moved to New York after the sudden death of his partner. He fell in love with the city, and with the brilliant neurologist, Oliver Sacks. Sacks had written to Hayes when his book The Anatomist released, saying he loved it and to let him know if he were ever in New York. When Hayes moved, they became friends, and Hayes became the great love of Oliver's life.

Insomniac City is a bunch of vignettes, photographs and journal entries about Hayes and Sacks' time together. It is quiet and romantic, and the writing was beautiful, reminding me of Abigail Thomas (one of my favourites). This was a pleasure to read. Now I'm off to read Sacks' biography!...more

I'll forever remember this book - the raw personal anecdotes, the contemplative reflection, the photographs that were the window to not just Bill Hayes' life and the very intimate relationship between Hayes and Oliver Sacks, but also to the soul of New York City, this insomniac city... The city that never sleeps.

"O: "The most we can do is to write—intelligently, creatively, critically, evocatively—about what it is like living in the world at this time."" That Bill Hayes has done.

One can be alive but half-asleep or half-noticing as the years fly, no matter how fully oxygenated the blood and brain or how steadily the heart beats. Fortunately, this is a reversible condition. One can learn to be alert to the extraordinary and press pause—to memorize moments of the everyday (p. 130).

That is exactly what Bill Hayes aims for in Insomniac City: New York, Oliver, and Me, which chronicles the joy Hayes experienced with his two loves: New York City and Oliver Sacks. It is comprisOne can be alive but half-asleep or half-noticing as the years fly, no matter how fully oxygenated the blood and brain or how steadily the heart beats. Fortunately, this is a reversible condition. One can learn to be alert to the extraordinary and press pause—to memorize moments of the everyday (p. 130).

That is exactly what Bill Hayes aims for in Insomniac City: New York, Oliver, and Me, which chronicles the joy Hayes experienced with his two loves: New York City and Oliver Sacks. It is comprised of a series of short essays/observations interwoven with his photos of New York, found pieces (gifts of poems and a drawing), and short pieces of dialogue drawn from his journal. All of this comes together much as a stain glass window: a series of small pieces pulled together to form a glorious whole.

Sacks was such an interesting and interested person, making Insomniac City feel like Little Prince (which I recently read for the first time). Hayes collects Sacks' curiousness, their quiet wordplay (or loving play). Parents delight in and record their children's words, but most of us forget to do that with our adult loves.

7-09-09: O’s 76th birthday: After I kiss him for a long time, exploring his mouth and lips with my tongue, he has a look of utter surprise on his face, eyes still closed: “Is that what kissing is, or is that something you’ve invented?” I laugh, disarmed. I tell him it’s patented—he’s sworn to secrecy. O smiles. “And if I hold you closely enough, I can hear your brain,” I tell him. (p. 40).

1-4-11: On the word list: I: “What do you list toward, Oliver?”O: “Other than libidinal listings?” I: “Those go without saying.” O: “I want a flow of good thoughts and words as long as I’m alive … and you? What do you list toward?” (p. 56)

1/8/11O: “I don’t regret the things I’ve done but those I haven’t done. In that way, I’m like a criminal …” (p. 63)

4/22/15O: “The most we can do is to write—intelligently, creatively, critically, evocatively—about what it is like living in the world at this time.” (p. 254).

Hayes' transcriptions of dialogue are from a man who listens deeply and finds grace and joy in what he sees and hear. They are evidence of the safety that both men found in this relationship.

Although it is easy to focus on Sacks' charm and curiosity, an equal part of this book's charm belongs to Hayes, who discovers a man who was probably living on the street, talks with him, gives him five dollars – and is given a poem because he doesn't take anything without giving back. Who sees a young black woman dressed entirely in pink and tells her she looks fabulous – purely through my thoughts (p. 122). Who walks into a party at a surf shop near his apartment, despite not knowing anyone (and never surfing). Who listened to and learned from taxi drivers.

Hayes saw the extraordinary in the everyday.

This is also a book about grief, as his partner Steve, then his editor, and finally Oliver died over the course of this book. This is a lovely response to that grief:

What I had really wanted to say [when asked how he had gotten over Steve's death] but found myself unable to explain (for it would have sounded too strange) was that I learned a good deal about moving through grief from some trees I once knew. They were not my trees. I didn’t plant them. They stood right outside the windows in my first New York apartment. The only tending done was to give them my full attention over the course of four seasons. (p. 180)

Watching them change across the seasons changed the way that he viewed changes and loss.

Hayes gave that same attention to the subjects of his photos – mostly but not solely of residents of New York City. As in his essays, he was able to see the beauty around him, even in people not conventionally beautiful....more

I don't know if other native New Yorkers feel this way, but I've often envied people who move here. Sometimes it's a long-held dream to live in "the big city," to escape the suffocating small town or repressive family and finally "live!" In Bill Hayes case, it was an impulse move, following the death of his lover Steve with whom he lived in San Francisco. What I envy is the newcomer's ability to discover and invent (the two are inseparable) a New York all their own and fall in love with it. I stI don't know if other native New Yorkers feel this way, but I've often envied people who move here. Sometimes it's a long-held dream to live in "the big city," to escape the suffocating small town or repressive family and finally "live!" In Bill Hayes case, it was an impulse move, following the death of his lover Steve with whom he lived in San Francisco. What I envy is the newcomer's ability to discover and invent (the two are inseparable) a New York all their own and fall in love with it. I still love New York, but the city I love is not the one in which I grew up in the 50s and 60s. I often tell people that New York has been four completely different cities in my lifetime, and they have not all been equally loveable. Even the Brooklyn neighborhood of my childhood, Prospect Heights, is now in its third incarnation. The present New York has retained my love mostly because in spite of the changes wrought by both the international and local rich (something like 1/4 of Manhattanites are millionaires) New York is increasingly cosmopolitan, and racially and ethnically more diverse than it was in the much more homogenous fifties.

I mention this because one of the many charms of Insomniac City is the vision, both photographic and verbal, Hayes presents of exactly this most recent New York. His embrace of nearly the entire populace, whom he talks to, photographs, celebrates (and celebrates with) and eulogizes is a delight. There are so many instances, and I don't have a favorite, but this one from one of the many journal entries devoted to "Ali" comes close. Hayes describes three men "doing the hard, awful, dirty work of cleaning out, emptying, and gutting the shop" in which Ali has worked for years, and is now closing.

"Everything upside down," Ali said, "Nothing easy."

And yet, and yet . . . Ali added, referring to the three of them,

"One Muslim, one Hindu, one Sikh: You see, we all here. Everyone work together. Back home, everyone fight."

So much of Insomniac City is a love letter to New York. And then, the other great pleasure is, of course, the portrait of his lover, Oliver Sacks, whom he describes with tenderness, humor, and a complete lack of sentimentality, even at the end when Sacks himself bravely and with great clarity of mind, faces his death.

I gulped this book down in a day, and look forward to another reading....more

A lovely memoir by the man who shared Oliver Sacks' final days. It's certainly a treat to read anything today that celebrates intellectual curiosity, love of science, love of life and open-minded acceptance of just about everyone. Hayes captures beautiful vignettes that show in vivid detail what it was like to share the table, the bath and the bed of the celebrated neurologist, author and overall superhuman Sacks.

He also expands his scope a bit with gritty vignettes of life in New York City in rA lovely memoir by the man who shared Oliver Sacks' final days. It's certainly a treat to read anything today that celebrates intellectual curiosity, love of science, love of life and open-minded acceptance of just about everyone. Hayes captures beautiful vignettes that show in vivid detail what it was like to share the table, the bath and the bed of the celebrated neurologist, author and overall superhuman Sacks.

He also expands his scope a bit with gritty vignettes of life in New York City in recent years. From the bars to the parks to the subways to the streets, Hayes writes the way he photographs, in clean, crisp, minimalistic strokes. While all the stories are entertaining, some are incredibly moving, and without being Pollyanna-ish, manage to bolster one's faith in human decency. In Hayes' world, no matter the subject, street person or privileged party girl, the desire to connect is always stronger than the impulse to dismiss. He is a keen listener and observer, and sometimes a good catalyst, too.

His chapter on how we all have the right to claim a work of art as our own, at no personal cost, whether it's a Monet painting, a play or a piece of music, is tender and profound. Highly recommended, and a very nice intro to the voluminous work of Sacks. Hayes is no slouch either. I've added his other books to my stack, as well....more

I cried when this ended. On the city bus. This book was gorgeously written, extremely readable and wholly relatable. An ode to a city and a man. Even with such tragedy as Bill Hayes experienced, his voice, this memoir, is written with such positivity and exuberance for life. And I had to get out the dictionary on several occasions, making this the perfect read.

Sometimes the characters in books become real to me. In this case Bill Hayes was the author and central character in Insomniac City. New York, Oliver and Me. He came across as an intelligent, engaging and interesting person and I loved the way he seemed to practice gratitude.

This nonfiction work was nothing if not a love story. It tells of the two great loves of his life. He shares how he worked through the grief associated with the loss of his first love Steve who died suddenly at a young age.Sometimes the characters in books become real to me. In this case Bill Hayes was the author and central character in Insomniac City. New York, Oliver and Me. He came across as an intelligent, engaging and interesting person and I loved the way he seemed to practice gratitude.

This nonfiction work was nothing if not a love story. It tells of the two great loves of his life. He shares how he worked through the grief associated with the loss of his first love Steve who died suddenly at a young age. He shares details of his relationship with Oliver Sacks, famed Neurologist and author of many books including Awakenings, and his eperiences as Oliver aged and finally succumbed to cancer. Finally he shares the joy he so obviously derives from living in, and loving, New York. New York was included in the title and it was fitting because it was major part if the book. It was beautifully written throughout but the way he brought New York (and Oliver) alive for me was delightful. As an added bonus he included some of his many photos of New Yorkers going about their business. He dedicated chapters to random encounters on the streets, in shops and on the subways. This was one of my (many) favorite passages

"I cannot take the subway without marveling at the lottery logic that brings together a random sampling of humanity for one minute or two, testing us for kindness and compatibility. Is that not what civility is?"

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The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in nonfiction, Bill Hayes is a frequent contributor to the New York Times and the author of several books.

A photographer as well as a writer, his photos have appeared in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Granta, New York Times, and on CBS Evening News. His portraits of his partner, the late Oliver Sacks, appear in the recent collection of Dr. Sacks’s suite of fiThe recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in nonfiction, Bill Hayes is a frequent contributor to the New York Times and the author of several books.

A photographer as well as a writer, his photos have appeared in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Granta, New York Times, and on CBS Evening News. His portraits of his partner, the late Oliver Sacks, appear in the recent collection of Dr. Sacks’s suite of final essays Gratitude.

Hayes has been a Visiting Scholar at the American Academy in Rome, the recipient of a Leon Levy Foundation grant, and a Resident Writer at Blue Mountain Center. He has also served as a guest lecturer at Stanford, NYU, UCSF, University of Virginia, and the New York Academy of Medicine....more

“I've lived in New York long enough to understand why some people hate it here: the crowds, the noise, the traffic, the expense, the rents; the messed-up sidewalks and pothole-pocked streets; the weather that brings hurricanes named after girls that break your heart and take away everything. It requires a certain kind of unconditional love to love living here. But New York repays you in time in memorable encounters, at the very least. Just remember: ask first, don't grab, be fair, say please and thank you- even if you don't get something back right away. You will.”
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“I don’t so much fear death as I do wasting life.” Oliver Sacks”
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